Nassau stalling on contracts, agencies say

Many social-service agencies under contract to Nassau County say they are in dire financial straits because they have kept providing services without payment or new contracts since at least January.

"I've been spending for more than nine months without a contract," said Sandy Oliva, executive director of the Nassau County Coalition Against Domestic Violence. "We continue the work because you don't want to disrupt the services. . . . But we're unable to pay many of our bills, including this month's rent."

The coalition is one of dozens of agencies reporting that, nearly halfway through the year, they are mired in red ink because $12 million in county contracts have not been finalized.

"This length of time without executed contracts and without payments is unprecedented," said Gwen O'Shea, executive director of the Health and Welfare Council of Long Island, an umbrella organization of more than 50 human service groups. She said 12 of the agencies she surveyed are owed a total of $12 million in contracts.

The question of who's at fault has sparked a blame game.

Officials in the administration of County Executive Edward Mangano, who is seeking to balance the 2011 budget, blamed "bureaucratic red tape" but did not elaborate.

"The county executive will take action to increase efficiencies and meet with the comptroller to determine what else can be done to speed up the process," said spokesman Brian Nevin.

Nassau Comptroller George Maragos, who must approve all county contracts submitted by Mangano, said he still has 42 social-service agency contracts worth $2.9 million in his office.

Maragos spokesman Jostyn Hernandez said the Nassau Interim Finance Authority's takeover of county finances in January has added at least a week to the contract-approval schedule. The comptroller's involvement takes about three weeks, Hernandez said.

NIFA must approve all contracts over $50,000.

NIFA denies holding up the process.

"Because we understand that many agencies and vendors have been waiting for months, we have made this process a priority and concluded [it] quickly, typically within one or two business days," said NIFA board member Christopher Wright. "Any delays . . . are occurring at, and [are] the responsibility of, the county. Any suggestions to the contrary are . . . untrue."

Sara Weiss, a development staff member of the Long Island Council of Churches, which has had a contract with Nassau for 30 years to feed the hungry, said the council has been subsidizing the county for six months by continuing its program without pay. "We have not yet received a contract for 2011, which means we cannot submit vouchers for reimbursement," Weiss said.

Philip Mickulas, acting chief executive of one of the biggest agencies, the Family and Children's Association, said that while the association has received 20 contracts worth a total of $6 million this year, 20 more, worth $5.7 million, are still outstanding.

Mickulas said the agency's $5 million line of credit is nearly exhausted because of the delays. "My board members are growing concerned," he said.

So are those of the Mental Health Association of Nassau County, said executive director David Nemiroff.

Nassau owes the association about $1 million, Nemiroff said, adding that association officials have called "everybody in the county and gotten little response from anybody."